The night of June 24 and the dawn of June 25, 2013 will be marked in the memory of the residents of Maré and the city of Rio de Janeiro for their sadness.
A group of agents from the Special Operations Battalion (BOPE) entered the complex to suppress thefts from passers-by on Avenida Brasil, which cuts through the region. Early on, one of the policemen was killed. From there, according to the testimonies of the residents registered in the investigation that followed, there was a sequence of brutal actions in the communities of Parque Maré, Nova Holanda and Parque União, apparently as a way to avenge the policeman. Maré woke up crying nine dead residents.
The mobilization of the community and institutions of Maré helped prevent further casualties and boosted investigations by Civil Police, through the Homicide Division. A week later, a protest for justice and against police violence brought together residents and people from various corners of the city, helping to expand the international repercussion of the tragedy.
It took many days to identify the victims and convince their families to testify for the Homicide Division. A significant number of witnesses were willing to overcome the fear of speaking - an unusual fact in the context of Rio's favelas.
One year after the sad events, the person in charge of the investigations, sheriff Rivaldo Barbosa, informed that the work should be concluded soon.
Forensics indicate that the policeman died in confrontation with members of local armed groups. Another eight people died due to resistance followed by death; a last one was working in a bar when the police, advancing at Parque União favela, shot in the direction of the commercial establishment.
The preliminary information of the investigations brings the reflection on deaths in slums and peripheries and on the clarification of crimes in our country. Everything indicates that eight victims will be characterized as dead when resisting police action. This means that these people will be identified, not as victims, but as the authors of their own deaths, in a context of confrontation with the police.
Bill No. 4471/2012 is in the National Congress, and proposes an end to the characterization of homicides that take place in confrontation with the police as “acts of resistance” followed by death. This commonplace expression has served to justify the lack of clarification on many criminal actions involving public security professionals and members of armed criminal groups. The text of the project suggests measures so that such crimes are, in fact, investigated and punished. It would be the chance to reduce the number of police investigative processes that have never been clarified, generating impunity, abuse of authority and fraud.
The proof that the deaths resulted from revenge for the murder of Bope´s sargent requires attention and response from the authorities. It is incomprehensible and unacceptable that professionals who should protect and respect life are responsible for brutal and unjustified deaths.
Eliana Sousa Silva
Director and founder of NGO Redes da Maré, researcher in public security and visiting professor at the Institute of Advanced Studies at USP
